Objective To map out a Forest Community and to compare and contrast different soil types

How It all was done 4 First perimeter triangles were placed out for reference point so that I did not cross old paths and previously recorded trees

How It all was done 4 Trees were “marked” digitally by a GPS unit. And given a number (waypoint)

How It all was done 4 Then the species name and DBH (Diameter Breast Height) were correlated with Waypoint number

How It all was done 4 The GPS data was then transferred to the computer via Waypoint.exe. 4 The Points were taken from Waypoint format and projected into a Archview layout of the Heinke Farm Using AV Garmin Software

How It all was done 4 The GPS data was then transferred to the computer via Waypoint.exe. 4 The Points were taken from Waypoint format and projected into a Archview layout of the Heinke Farm Using AV Garmin Software

How it all was done 4 The trees were laid over the soil map and the Quadrats were picked by three characteristics 4 1. They had to be within a 1000 sq meter Quadrat 4 2. All the trees were on the forest edge 4 3. All the trees were on the same soil type

How it all was done 4 The trees were laid over the soil map and the Quadrats were picked by three characteristics 4 1. They had to be within a 1000 sq meter Quadrat 4 2. All the trees were on the forest edge 4 3. All the trees were on the same soil type

How it was all done 4 Next each tree in each Quadrat was typed into Microsoft Excel 4 From there the data was categorized by: 4 Tree Species 4 Tree density (amount of trees compared with the total amount of trees) 4 Layers (Sapling, Middle Layer, and Overstory 4 Further they were cut into Density Sapling Layer, Density Middle Layer… and so on

How it all got done 4 From those specifications I was able to compare each Quadrat to find my ultimate goal of determining the differences between tree composition and soil type.

Analysis at the beginning 4 Then you could ask yourself, like I did: I see all this data but how do I know that they are different and not just a fluke in the soil, trees, or maybe even the researcher?

Analysis 4 I went for help and I got some information on how to analyze my data using statistical software.

Analysis 4 The research called for an ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) test using two factors without replication. 4 From this point I compared all the data using a 95% confidence level. 4 I crossed Sapling layers of Quadrats with Density percents, Middle Story with Species Variety, and so on and so forth...

Interpretation of data 4 Overall there was only one difference between the Quadrats taken and the soil type that the Quadrat was on. That was between the Quadrat 1 and Quadrat 3, 4, and 5. I stream-lined my findings and found that it had occurred in the Middle story of the Quadrats.

Conclusions 4 So the different soil types had produced different tree composition, although very slight. There was a difference between the soil types on this small of a soil scale. The soil types had changed only by a couple of degrees of slope, the composition of the soil, and the moisture in the soil.

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